Chapter 1669 Grand Selection Commences
As the Selection Day drew near, the atmosphere within the Ancient Barbarian City gradually thickened.
Some legendary Barbarian Tribes also began to appear in the Ancient Barbarian City.
Barbarian King lineages like the Mountain-Chasing Barbarians bearing the "Kuafu" bloodline, the Wind-Sitting Barbarians bearing the "Thunderbird" bloodline, and others revealed themselves in the Ancient Barbarian City. The appearance of each one caused a massive commotion throughout the vast barbarian city.
Inside the Savage Power Tavern, a tumultuous uproar reigned as arm wrestling became a rampant pastime, the place was sheer chaos.
Truth be told, calling it a tavern was a stretch. It was essentially a rough stone structure, open to the wind, roofed by a large stone slab covering some stone tables, with tall stone pillars supporting it in the middle. The view was wide open, little different from the bustling streets outside.
Sun Hao waited for roughly ten-odd days before the Selection Day finally arrived.
A pillar of crimson light erupted into the sky above the Ancient Barbarian City.
In the center of the city, within the huge stone plaza, a massive banner was erected.
The War Banner of Bloody Battle.
The war banner was planted atop an enormous stone pillar. Viewed from afar, it resembled a long, rectangular, vertical curtain hanging down. The banner itself was predominantly white, overlaid with patterns of gold and crimson, standing right in the middle of the stone plaza.
Everywhere within the Barbarian City, this towering war banner could be seen clearly.
The moment Sun Hao saw the war banner, even he felt an inexplicable excitement welling up inside him, a surge of boiling fervor.
He felt an impulse to throw his head back and roar to vent his feelings. The Barbaric Decapitated Deity Art involuntarily activated for an instant, beyond his control. He quickly exerted his Divine Sense to suppress it.
At that very moment, Sun Hao realized that inside the tavern, every Barbarian Warrior was already pounding their chests, roaring skyward. The entire Barbarian City echoed with such roars.
Savage spirit, the true savage spirit of the barbarians, had been ignited by the War Banner of Bloody Battle. Sun Hao could see that everywhere his gaze fell, every Barbarian Warrior was seething with fervor, their fighting spirit high and buoyant.
Whether male Barbarians or female Warriors, all wore the same expression, rubbing their fists and palms together, eager and ready for action.
Sun Hao also followed local customs, straining his throat to roar a few times himself.
Amidst the warriors' roars, a mournful bellow of a horn sounded from the Ancient Barbarian City. As if echoing from ancient times, the somber and drawn-out horn call resounded across the city's sky, drowning out the roars of all the Barbarian Warriors, reaching every corner of the city clearly.
Around the War Banner of Bloody Battle, within the broad plaza, thick crimson air currents surged upwards, filling the surroundings. Stirred by the horn's sound, these currents roiled, their area of cover growing wider and wider.
Blood mist enveloped the entire plaza. Within the churning bloody vapor, it seemed as though Desolate Beasts writhed and roared.
Golden railings rose up all around, ascending to the level of the war banner before gradually fixing in place. The crimson currents surrounding the railings coalesced into ten distinct concentrations.
In less time than it takes an incense stick to burn, the crimson currents solidified in the air into ten blood-red platforms, floating suspended and connected to the War Banner of Bloody Battle. Around the war banner, ten imposing dueling arenas materialized in mid-air.
Each duel arena spanned a hundred miles, ample space for Barbarian Warriors to battle freely.
The formation of the duel arenas complete, the transformation continued.
Amidst rumbling booms, the central plaza of the Ancient Barbarian City began to sink downward, deeper and deeper, only stopping once the blood-red duel arenas were roughly level with the city's ground level.
Meanwhile, every structure within the Ancient Barbarian City, including the Savage Power Tavern where Sun Hao was, also began to rumble and shift. The tavern seemed to tilt as a whole; the Barbarian Warriors seated at the stone tables suddenly found themselves sitting on what felt like a huge slanted platform, offering a clear downward view onto the Battle Arenas below.
However, the War Banner of Bloody Battle still stood tall, its height surpassing all the tilted structures of the Ancient Barbarian City, proudly occupying the central position.
The core area of the Ancient Barbarian City, within the colossal barbarian metropolis, now resembled a giant main grandstand. It rose high on the side directly facing the War Banner of Bloody Battle's front, slightly shorter than the war banner itself but much taller than other parts of the city.
A powerfully built Barbarian Warrior, his arms bare, wearing a dragon horn helmet, and holding a gigantic broad axe, strode forth grandly onto the elevated stone city area of the core. His booming voice, like a giant bell, resounded throughout: "The millennium grand event begins now! Barbarian Warriors! Peerless glory! An unparalleled opportunity awaits you just ahead! What are you waiting for? Go forth! Brave, fearless youths! Show me your mettle!"
His massive broad axe pointed towards the sky: "Barbarian Arena selection! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Throughout the massive, spiraling stone city encircling the central plaza, weapons like broad axes and giant clubs waved high. Barbarian Warriors seethed with bloodlust, roaring continuously.
Ten enormous Desolate Beasts were herded onto the duel arenas.
These were ten Golden Wild grade Desolate Beasts of immense power. They served as the appetizer for the Barbarian Arena battles and a stage for the Brute King bloodlines to showcase themselves.
The ten Golden Wilds were contained by the golden railings on the arenas, unable to escape, reduced to incessant roars and savage struggles within their confines – beasts caged for battle.
In front of the duel arena directly opposite the War Banner of Bloody Battle, a Barbarian Warrior with a slightly hunched back and unusually long arms that reached past his knees, holding no weapon, strode towards the Barbarian Arena with heavy, thudding footsteps.
Sun Hao's eyes involuntarily narrowed slightly. The Golden Wild on this arena was exceptionally strong, reaching the Peak Golden Wild level. Unable to employ his Five-Element True Essence, Sun Hao knew defeating such a Peak Golden Wild wouldn't be easy for him either.
He didn't know whether the Barbarian Warrior walking up—who Sun Hao recognized as having the "Behemoth" bloodline—would be able to handle it.
The battle erupted instantly as the Barbarian Warrior stepped onto the arena. It was a Peak Desolate Lion. It lunged ferociously, its massive jaws open wide, pouncing towards the Barbarian Warrior.
Clang! The Barbarian Warrior crossed his arms in front of his chest.
The assault bite from the Peak Desolate Lion was completely blocked.
With a thunderous roar: "RAAAAAH!" The Barbarian Warrior didn't wait for the Desolate Lion to retreat. As he roared, he lunged forward, lightning-fast. Sharp claws extended from his hands, clamping down like bolts of thunder onto the lion's forelegs.
Despite the Desolate Lion's mighty physique and immense strength, it couldn't break free from the Barbarian Warrior's grip.
Tremendous, golden-hued power surged up through the Barbarian Warrior's torso. He lifted his arms high... and ripped!
The immensely powerful Golden Wild was torn asunder! A rain of blood splattered down from the sky onto the Barbarian Warrior's head.
Drenched in blood, holding half of the Desolate Beast's corpse in one hand, the Barbarian Warrior strode along the inside of the duel arena's barrier, showing himself to all.
The entire place exploded into waves of frantic cheers.
Commencing with the blood of a Peak Golden Wild, the Barbarian Arena Grand Battles were truly ignited.
Nick, the Barbarian Warrior of Behemoth bloodline, having slain the Peak Desolate Lion, did not stay to defend the arena. Instead, he was immediately summoned by the upper echelons of the Ancient Barbarian City in the core area.
Germain, a male Warlock Clan cultivator from the Middle Void, signed an employment contract with Nick. Both appeared together, looking exceedingly pleased. Clearly, both sides were satisfied with the arrangement.
The Warlock Clan physique was leaner than the Barbarian Tribe's, and shorter. Standing beside Nick, Germain looked like a little person. However, compared to the Human Clan, the Warlock Clan was significantly taller and larger.
The most distinguishing feature of the Warlock Clan was that they always held a glowing orb in their hands, mysterious and deep blue in hue.
There were no Warlock Clan in the Lower Void. In the Middle Void, however, the Warlock Clan was renowned, standing alongside the Witch Clan as one of the powerful Upper Void races, an essential cornerstone of the Ancient Witch Clan.
The Warlock Clan and Witch Clan in the Middle Void were intermixed and complementary. However, each had its own separate governing institutions. Even members of the same family could belong to different leaderships, hence their classification as two distinct races. Yet, in essence, they were two halves of one whole.
From the Nine Star Li Tribe's archives, Sun Hao vaguely surmised that, strictly speaking, the Ancient Witch Clan of the Upper Void rested on two foundations: the Barbarian Tribes of the Lower Void and the Middle Void's Male and Female Shaman Clan. This differed somewhat from the Human Clan's composition.
The Human Clan existed as a single race across all three Voids – Upper, Middle, and Lower. In the Lower Void, the Human Clan didn't even possess any vassal races.
Who knew if they might have acquired vassal races upon reaching the Middle Void?
It was a happy outcome for all. Nick had joined the Warlock Clan, the aspiration of every Barbarian Tribe member.
One after another, six more Barbarian King bloodlines took turns stepping forward. Each slew the Desolate Beasts on their respective duel arenas and successfully formed employment contracts with Middle Void races.
Among them, only the Barbarian Warrior of the Kuafu bloodline gained recognition from yet another Warlock Clan cultivator. The other contestants were hired away by cultivators from other relatively powerful Middle Void races: Fire Phoenix, Thunder Barbarian, and so forth.
These races were strong in their own right, but couldn't quite match the stature of the Warlock Clan.
The Brute King bloodlines had all fought, yet three Desolate Beasts remained untouched on the three duel arenas still floating in the air. Looking at these three beasts, a thought stirred within Sun Hao.